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TOYING AROUND: SDCC Exclusives, Falcon & Batman!

Summer is almost here, and things are starting to heat up in the collectible world. After one heck of a winter and the spring thaw, we’re getting closer to the community’s next big event, Comic-Con International: San Diego. The event not only offers a variety of exclusive figures and statues — like the ones from Mattel and NECA seen below — but also gives companies a platform to show off what they’ve got coming for the second half of 2014 and the beginning of 2015. Before all that moves into full swing, though, we’re still checking out new, non-con offerings from the likes of Hasbro, DC Collectibles, Diamond Select Toys, Funko and more!

MATTEL SDCC EXCLUSIVES | Comic-Con International: San Diego might not kick off until July 24, but toy companies are starting to get the con-exclusive buzz going. Mattel started early and has been releasing more and more of their convention offerings ever since. This week, they showed off the “Batman: Arkham Night”-based Batman and Batmobile as well as a Total Heroes Cyborg and the Cars Neon Racers Gift Pack. Attendees can pre-order their exclusives on Mattycollector.com starting on June 24 so they can pick them up at the show. Or you can just try your luck at the show itself.

NECA SDCC EXCLUSIVES | NECA also started showing off their first SDCC exclusives. First up is Freddy Krueger! Limited to 5000 pieces, this 8-inch retro cloth figure takes its design and color scheme from “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” when everyone’s favorite dream manipulator donned his Super Freddy duds. More recently, NECA unleashed a “Pacific Rim” 7-inch 3-pack featuring shiny, black versions of Gipsy Danger, Crimson Typhoon and Striker Eureka as they appeared during the film’s end credits, which can be more fully recreated thanks to the window box and its inserts.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLIDER | Sure Hot Toys made new figures of Cap and Black Widow based on their appearances in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” but they broke new ground with their Falcon figure! The 1:6 scale, super-detailed action figure looks just like star Anthony Mackie and comes with a variety of weapons, his wings and even some LED lights in the pack.

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES | Ever since DC Collectibles announced their new line of “Batman: The Animated Series” and “The New Batman Adventures” figures, fans have been wondering who would come next. Enter MTV, who scored a look at the rest of the first wave, which includes Two-Face and Mr. Freeze as well as the late-2014 shipping entries of Robin, Joker and Poison Ivy.

X-MEN | Last week we scored a look at a new line of Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures devoted entirely to the X-Men. Since then, Hasbro announced that the Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Magneto and Stryfe figures will in fact be Toys”R”Us exclusives. This time around, the Build-A-Figure is Jubilee.

MARVEL MINIMATES | Diamond Select Toys has all your Marvel MiniMates needs covered this summer. The company recently revealed three different sets based on the House of Ideas’ many properties. First off, the 58th wave will take its cues from “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and include 2-packs of Future Professor X with Past Magneto, Future Magneto with Past Mystique, Future Wolverine with Future Storm and Past Logan with Past Charles Xavier. The next wave is based on “All-New X-Men” and features Cyclops with Marvel Girl, Beast with Angel, Iceman with a Sentinel and a rare Bobby Drake with Sentinel. Finally, the third line of Best of Marvel MiniMates rolls on with Marvel Now Captain America and Modern Spider-Man, Transforming Grey Hulk and Extremis Iron Man, Classic Hawkeye and Lab Coat Ant-Man and Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION | Paramount has been in overdrive this week when it comes to hyping “Transformers: Age of Extinction” with new clips, images, trailers and posters. Funko also got in on the action by showing off the first three figures in their Pop! Vinyl line. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee aren’t much of a surprise, but Drift — voiced by Ken Watanabe in the film — also made the cut! This band of Autobots will be out in May.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES | Classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans take note, Funko’s new TMNT offerings are right up your trash-strewn alley. In July, they’ll unveil the blind box Mystery Minis which include the four main Turtles, April, Splinter, Casey Jones, Rocksteady, Bebop, Shredder, Krang and a member of the Foot Clan. That same month, the next wave of TMNT Pop Vinyls will hit rounding out the line-up to include April, Rocksteady, Bebop and a Foot Solider. Finally, bobblehead aficionados can pick up Splinter, Shredder and the Turtles in August when the line of Wacky Wobblers drops.

HALO 4 | The most recent version of Halo’s hero Master Chief has not only earned his stripes on the battlefield, but also a new ARTFX statue from Kotobukiya. The November-shipping “Halo 4” piece comes with two different right arms as well as limited neck and waist articulation for a bit more customization when it comes to display.

THE SIMPSONS | NECA’s line of “Simpsons” celebrity figures, also known as “25 of the Greatest Guest Stars,” continues to amass a nice variety of well known faces done in that familiar cartoon style. This time around Penn and Teller, Brett Hart, Stephen King, Leonard Nimoy and all three members of R.E.M. make the cut. The figures will hit stores in June.